Photo of the Week 117

So, I knew that there would be no way that this week’s POTW post could top last weeks’. I mean, come on — Burning Man is hard to beat! Then there was the issue of my camera being cleaned (that Playa dust is not sensor friendly.) Oh, and then there was this other little issue.

Surgery! A boob job, but not the fun kind — that’s the little joke I came up with to make having a “complex adenoma excision” seem more entertaining. Some of you might remember that I found a lump in my breast last fall as I was gearing up to leave for Southeast Asia. After a biopsy revealed it was not-cool-but-not-cancerous, I decided to delay the removal because, frankly, surgery is one of my least favorite ways to spend a day. I knew I’d have to get it taken care of eventually, though, and with another long open-ended trip ahead of me I knew that now was the time. Actually, I thought June was the time, but a bunch of bureaucratic BS pushed it back to this past week. My travels have shown me how inefficient our healthcare system is and it’s hard not to loudly regale everyone in the dingy waiting room with tales of how hospitals in Thailand are like five star hotels. That said, I have received great care throughout this situation.

So now I’m in “recovery” if by “recovery” you mean “refusing to take pain medication so that I can answer emails and don’t I understand what the concept of taking a rest means,” according to my mother. I apologize for the wonky posting schedule right now and all of your emails that I will be a little slower than usual to respond to. There’s only one photo this week. I’ll make up for it with a big surprise in the next one…

Can anyone guess the surprise?

In other news, the 2014 Women Divers’ Hall of Fame Scholarships are now open. The grant I won from this organization paid $1,100 towards my Divemaster and introduced me to some amazing pioneers of women in diving! Take a look, there might be a scholarship or grant that applies to you…

Many thanks to those of you who have already taken my reader survey! I am humbled by the outpouring of responses. If you haven’t filled it out yet, there’s a pretty great prize pack awaiting someone!